Exclusive: Veritas Investments looks to sell nearly a third of its San Fran portfolio

CORRECTION TO STORY BELOW: Per further information–NO INVESTOR WAS LOST

Policy has consequences.  Rent control, swatters protected by cops, affordable housing mandates causing developers to lose money—so they develop in Free States, like Texas.  Homeless everywhere, the mentally ill threatening the public, human and dog feces on every block.  These policies have consequences.

“Veritas Investments is seeking to sell 76 buildings – nearly a third of its San Francisco portfolio – after losing an investor, the San Francisco Business Times has learned.

The San Francisco-based residential real estate company was started in 2007 by Yat-Pang Au and has accumulated a total of 265 properties throughout San Francisco, making it one of the city’s largest residential landlords. Veritas’ entire portfolio is valued at around $3 billion. “

Would you invest in San Fran today?  Expect this to be the first of many divestments.  As the trend grows see the value of San Fran property to decline.  This will be the first California city where the government created recession hits.

Exclusive: Veritas Investments looks to sell nearly a third of its portfolio 

By Laura Waxmann, San Francisco Business Times, 1/24/20   

Veritas Investments is seeking to sell 76 buildings – nearly a third of its San Francisco portfolio – after losing an investor, the San Francisco Business Times has learned.

The San Francisco-based residential real estate company was started in 2007 by Yat-Pang Au and has accumulated a total of 265 properties throughout San Francisco, making it one of the city’s largest residential landlords. Veritas’ entire portfolio is valued at around $3 billion.

A spokesperson for Veritas confirmed Friday that the company is planning on marketing a number of buildings together to make them a more attractive investment opportunity for a potential buyer. But city officials are calling on Veritas to first negotiate with them, and potentially sell the buildings to the city, rather than to a private investor.

City officials estimate that the buildings Veritas is seeking to sell are comprised of some 2,163 units.

A press conference is scheduled for Monday at which tenant advocates and city leaders plan to urge Veritas to pause the portfolio sale pending a negotiation period. Kyle Smeallie, legislative aide for newly elected District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, told the Business Times on Friday that a two month negotiation period is a reasonable amount of time to come to a solution.

“There is one universe were we can figure out how to work with the Mayor’s Office of Housing to acquire these small sites,” said Smeallie. “We were of the mind that when you see this many units going on the market that this the time for the city to step in to see what we can do.”

Veritas’ spokesperson stressed that even with a sale, the tenants would not lose their rent-control protections, and added that the company is open to negotiations with the city.

Veritas has come under fire by its tenants and housing activists for passing on bundled costs for repairs and debt services to its tenants, and is accused of fueling the displacement of its rent controlled tenants.

Following the passage of legislation aimed at disincentivizing large landlords from driving up rents through legal pass-through costs, Veritas last year promised to expedite a hardship waiver program and waive new fees for many tenants.